Kira Nerys
Kira Nerys was a major in the Bajoran Militia, following years in the Bajoran Resistance during the Cardassian Occupation. She served as Bajoran liaison officer on Starfleet station Deep Space 9 and later assumed command of the station. Nerys was integral in the survival of the Cardassian Rebellion against the Dominion. Childhood .]] Kira Nerys was born in the Dahkur Province on Bajor and lived a large part of her life in the Bajoran Singha refugee camp. In 2346, her mother Kira Meru was taken to Terok Nor to serve as a comfort woman to the Cardassians. At three years old, she was too young to understand this, and Kira Taban, her father, told his children that Meru had died. Nerys would not learn the truth until 2374. After her mother was taken, Nerys and her brothers began receiving better food. Though many Bajorans (including Nerys herself) viewed comfort women as collaborators, her father felt Meru was making a great sacrifice for her family, and often told his daughter that her mother was the bravest woman he'd ever known. (DS9: "Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night") Nerys often got into trouble as a child because of her interest in annoying the adults. At age thirteen her association with the Bajoran Resistance began as she ingrained herself in the base camp of resistance leader Shakaar. (DS9: "Duet") Bajoran Resistance By the end of that year, 2356, Nerys was running errands, cleaning weapons and doing various other tasks for the Shakaar Resistance Cell. When they planned an ambush and required more infantry, Nerys immediately saw her opportunity and volunteered for the mission. Although everyone thought she was far too young, Lupaza stood up for her and told her she had the heart of a sinoraptor and that they had no other choice but to accept her help. When Furel made a joke about Nerys, he was hit by Lupaza for doing so. Eventually Shakaar himself approved the teenager and she joined the ambush. (DS9: "Shakaar") First mission The ambush was her first mission, one she would never forget. She was scared, cold and kept biting her fingers to keep the blood flowing while the group waited on a mountain ridge. She was most afraid that one of the other Shakaar members would notice her doing so. After three to four hours, the skimmer they were waiting for appeared. When the hatch opened and the first Cardassian emerged, she opened fire and kept shooting until the power cell was empty. When it was all over, she was giddy, grinning and relieved that she had not let anyone down. Later, Lupaza crafted a Bajoran earring out of some of the metal of the destroyed skimmer, which she gave to the younger Bajoran. Nerys would wear the adornment throughout the rest of her life. (DS9: "Shakaar") Having proven herself, Kira Nerys was now regarded as a member of the Bajoran resistance. (DS9:"The Darkness and the Light) Deep Space 9: 2369 Kira in 2369.]] After the Cardassians' withdrawal in 2369, Kira joined the Bajoran Militia with the rank of major and was appointed the position of Bajoran liaison officer on Deep Space 9. She was torn between her loyalty to Bajor and to the fact that she knew that the Federation's presence was needed to secure her home's safety; when she first met Commander Benjamin Sisko, she told him outright that she did not feel the Federation had any business on Bajor. However, while Kira and Sisko disagreed on a number of issues, she eventually became his trusted right arm as second in command of the station. (DS9: "Emissary", "The Homecoming") The Major was deceived by Tana Los, a former Bajorian resistance fighter, who was rescued when his ship was attacked by Cardassians, who claimed he was a terrorist. Kira convinced Commander Sisko to grant Tana asylum, despite his own misgivings. However it was soon revealed that Tana was indeed planning to cause an explosion in the wormhole in order to drive both the Federation and the Cardassians out of Bajoran territory. Kira was able to thwart the terrorist's plan. (DS9: Past Prologue) When the station was infected with a virus, inducing aphasia in the crew, it is discovered that this was a booby trap left behind by the Bajoran Resistance. Kira was able to track down Surmak Ren, who helped plan the virus, and an antidote was found. (DS9: Babel) In addition to her duties on Deep Space 9, she was called upon to act for Bajor on a number of issues. She evacuated an elderly man named Mullibok from his home to make way for Bajoran development. (DS9: Progress) Kira would suffer a great loss when Kai Opaka arrived on the station. She along with Sisko and Bashir would take Opaka on a trip through the wormhole. They became stranded on a planet were eternal war takes place. People die, only to revive and fight again. During the crash, Opaka would die, but later would regenerate. When the force field on the planet was broken, Opaka would decide to stay and help try to end the fighting. (DS9: Battle Lines) Kira and Sisko came into conflict when she led a mutiny against him while under the control of an energy matrix which contained an archive of a power struggle within an ancient race. It had infected the crew of a Klingon ship in the Gamma Quadrant. It was brought on to the station by the sole survivor of that ship. who although was safely aboard the station, killed himself. It was now affecting the station crew, with Kira in the role of the murderous leader of the opposition. After Odo beamed the matrix out into space the crew returned to normal. (DS9: Dramatis Personae) At the end of the year, Kira was confronted by a Cardassian who commanded the notorious Gallitep labor camp. The Cardassian had the aillment Kalla-Nohra Syndrome, which was caused by a mining accident at the camp. Kira charged him with being a war criminal. He stated that his name was Marritza, and that he was a file clerk at the camp. After examining pictures of the camp it was believed that he was in reality Gul Darhe'el, the commander of the camp. He confessed to the Major and proceeded to horrify her by bragging about the camp and deaths he caused. He accused her of being a war criminal, since her terrorist activities killed innocent Cardassians. Odo investigated, and revealed that "Darhe'el" really was Marritza, and that he had cosmetic surgery performed to look like Darhe'el. He wished to be caught and stand trial so that the crimes would be exposed. He hoped that Cardassians would be shocked and admit their guilt so that a new government could be put in place. He was released but was killed by a Bajoran on the station. (DS9: Duet) 2370-2371 Kira rescued Li Nalas in hopes that he would unite the different factions on Bajor. She fought on the Federation's side against the Circle, a radical Bajoran group who attempted to overthrow the Bajoran government and drive the Federation from Deep Space 9. She was captured by them and tortured, but refused to divulge any security secrets about the station to them. After learning that the group was being financed by Cardassians in order to cause turmoil, so Cardassia could re-occupy Bajor, she traveled to Bajor and presented the evidence to the Council of Ministers, helping to end the threat. (DS9: "The Homecoming", "The Circle", "The Siege") She became an opponent of Vedek Winn Adami. She believed that Winn was responsible for the assassination attempt on Vedek Bareil, whom the major supported in his bid to be elected Kai. Bareil suddenly withdrew in order to keep a secret concerning Opaka's conduct during the Occupation. Winn won the position then proceed to attempt a takeover of Bajor's secular Bajoran Provisional Government. Kira continued to have a deep-seated mistrust of the Kai. (DS9: "In the Hands of the Prophets", "The Collaborator", "Shakaar") A Bajoran named Vatrick Pallra attempted to have Quark murdered after he retrieved a list of Bajoran collaborators. This reopened the five year-old murder case of her husband, in which Major Kira was a suspect. Kira first met Odo at the time of the crime, and even though much of the evidence pointed to her, she told Odo that she did not kill him, because she was in the underground and was sabotaging a different part of the station. Odo believed her and did not turn her in. After he solved Quark's attempted murder, he realized that Kira 'did' murder Pallra's husband because he was a collaborator. (DS9: Necessary Evil) Refugees called the Skrreea from the Gamma Quadrant arrived on the station believing that Bajor was their long lost paradise. They wished to settle on the planet and Kira supported their effort. They were refused because the Provisional Government feared that the still-devastated planet could not sustain such an increase of population. As they left, Kira realized that the Skrreeans were accomplished farmers who could have cultivated the land and helped end the famine on Bajor. (DS9: Sanctuary) She was with Odo in 2371 when he discovered that his people were the Founders, rulers of the Dominion. Later that year she was kidnapped by the Cardassians who surgically altered her to look like a Cardassian. They were nearly able to convince her that she was really a spy, named Iliana Ghemor, who had been planted in the Bajoran Resistance. She was rescued with the help of Garak. Later that year she became involved in Thomas Riker's plot to attack Cardassia on behalf of the Maquis. (DS9: "The Search, Part I", "USS Defiant") She was also one of the first of Deep Space 9's crew to visit the mirror universe, where she met her counterpart, "the Intendant", one of the most evil people in the Alliance. (DS9:"Crossover") 2372-2373 Kira helped repel the Klingon invasion of Deep Space 9. The Klingons believed that the fall of the military government and rise of a civilian alternative on Cardassia was the result of Changeling infiltration. She helped Gul Dukat rescue his daughter from the Breen. She also taught Dukat how to fight as a resistance fighter against the Klingons. All of this was deeply distressing to the Major, as Dukat was her sworn enemy during the Occupation of Bajor. (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior", "Indiscretion", and "Return to Grace") Kira investigated the killings of her former Resistance cohorts and was captured by a Cardassian named Silaran Prin. He was disfigured in an attack by her group. She killed him in order to save her life. (DS9: The Darkness and the Light) In an alternate timeline she was killed in the crash of the Defiant when it traveled back in time two centuries and crashed on a Gamma Quadrant planet. The present-day Defiant discovered the planet and the descendants of the survivors. They informed their ancestors that in two days the crash will occur. Kira decided to sacrifice herself by allowing the events of the crash to occur, but was thwarted by the alternate Odo, who was still in love with her. In preventing the crash he revealed the love that the current Odo held for her. (DS9: Children of Time) The Dominion War and Kira Nerys in a Starfleet Commander's uniform in 2375.]] After the Dominion captured Deep Space 9, Kira remained on the station to represent the Bajoran Government under the new Dominion administration, who placed Dukat back in his former position as station commander. (DS9: Call to Arms) While at first she cooperated with Cardassians and Dominion, a crisis of conscience after Vedek Yassim accused her of being a collaborator, the very type of Bajoran she spent her early years fighting. After Yassim committed suicide in protest against the Dominion occupation, she decided to start a new resistance against the Dominion. (DS9: Rocks and Shoals) Immediately, with the help of Odo and others, the Major began a campaign of fomenting conflict between the Cardassians and Jem'Hadar. Some time later she and Rom were captured while attempting to thwart Dominion attempts to re-open the Bajoran wormhole. (DS9: Behind the Lines) She, along with Rom, were condemned to die, until Quark rescued them. Kira, along with Quark, Rom, Jake, and Odo, helped disable the station's weapons, which helped Starfleet retake the station. (DS9: Favor the Bold, Sacrifice of Angels) Shortly after the Dominion withdrawal Bareil's mirror universe counterpart arrives on the station rekindling feelings Kira had for the late Bareil of her universe. He claimed ayslum and spent much time with the Major, although he was actually the lover of Indendant Kira, with whom he planned to steal Orb of Time from the station. However, he fell in love with Major Kira and released her from capture, although he found he could not remain in her universe living under the shadow of the revered vedek he resembled. The Major thus again lost one of the great loves of her life.(DS9: Resurrection) Kira's body was taken over by a Prophet when a Pah-wraith possesed Jake Sisko, bringing about the prophesied "Day of Reckoning" that would determine if Bajor would enter into a golden age, or the evil ones would ravage the planet. The battle was terminated before a conclusion because of Kai Winn flooding the station with radiation that drove out the lifeforms. (DS9: The Reckoning) In 2375 Kira was promoted to the rank of Colonel and placed in command of Deep Space 9 after Captain Sisko took an extended leave of absence. She confronted the Romulans, who were allies against the Dominion, over the placing of weapons on a hospital planet in the Bajoran system. (DS9: Shadows and Symbols) Gul Dukat and his cult of Bajorans loyal to the Pah-Wraiths captured the Colonel later that year. One of her teachers, Vedek Fala, was a member of the cult. When Kira attempted to expose Dukat as a fraud, Dukat announced that the cult members, even himself, must give themselves to the Pah-Wraiths by committing suicide. Kira saved the cult by exposing that Dukat's personal suicide pills were fake. Disillusioned, Fala killed himself. (DS9: Covenant) Kira was asked by Captain Sisko and Admiral Ross to help Legate Damar organize the nascent Cardassian uprising against the Dominion and teach them the finer art of guerilla warfare due to her extensive experience in the Bajoran Resistance. Sisko granted her the rank of Starfleet Commander in order to help her gain the trust of those Cardassians who still believed she was an anti-Cardassian terrorist. Odo and Garak departed with the Commander to join Damar at the Cardassian Liberation Front headquarters. (DS9: When It Rains...) Although Damar welcomed her assistance, Gul Rusot was vocally distrustful of her. Kira injured the Gul when he confronted her. Their animosity almost led to Kira's death at Rusot's hand, but Damar killed him before he could carry out his crime. (DS9: "Tacking Into the Wind") During the final battle of the Dominion War, Kira, Garak, Damar, and two other soldiers from the rebellion stormed the Dominion command center on Cardassia Prime. Damar and one of the soldiers were killed, but Garak and Kira managed to make it to the command center, kill Weyoun and capture the female Changeling. After the end of the war and Captain Sisko's disappearance, she once again assumed command of Deep Space 9. (DS9: "What You Leave Behind") Personal relationships Friendships Benjamin Sisko Kira first met Sisko when he came to take command of Deep Space 9. They got off to a rocky start, and their relationship was further complicated when he was revealed to be the Emissary of the Prophets. At one point Kira was infected by an energy imprint of a culture that destroyed itself and led a mutiny against Sisko. Odo was able to disperse the energy and everyone returned to normal. (DS9:"Dramatis Personae") However, the two did manage to form a good working relationship, and they even got to be friends in later years. Despite their working relationship, Kira always kept her relationship with Sisko more formal than did other members of the DS9 crew. She did not realize it but Sisko's status as the Emissary of the Prophets in her religion made her feel uncomfortable with the thought of a true friendship. This changed when she had to keep watch over him during a mission in which the Defiant was nearly destroyed. All but alone with him on the bridge, Kira tried to keep talking so Sisko would not lose consciousness, as he had a concussion and risked falling into a coma if he did so. This brought them closer together, and after the ordeal, they even went to a baseball game in the holosuite together, where she was introduced to hot dogs. (DS9: "Starship Down") Jadzia Dax Kira would form her closest friendship with Jadzia Dax. They would confide in each other often, especially about their romances. They would also discuss problems and seek each other's advice. Although Kira did not like Jadzia's choice of men and sometimes Jadzia would let slip some of the details of Kira's romances. Jadzia also got Kira to loosen up a bit. Kira hated holosuites, but did participate in them with Jadzia. Kira continued her friendship with Dax once Jadzia was killed and Dax had taken Ezri Tigan as its new host. Ezri considered Kira as one of her closest friends. (DS9: "Duet", "The Way of the Warrior" (original broadcast), "Crossfire", "Blood Oath") Miles O'Brien Kira developed a mutual conflicted attraction to Miles O'Brien during the period in which she carried his child after an accident forced Julian Bashir to transplant the fetus for it to survive. (DS9: "Body Parts) Soon after Kira moved in with the couple at thier request. After a time Miles' care, affection, and the close quarters led to a brief period of uncomfortablity. Thankfully both Miles and Kira were able to seperate their feelings, and continue their friendship without taking it any further. (DS9: "Nor the Battle to the Strong") Sometime later Kira gave birth to Miles' son Kirayoshi. The mirror universe Kira had an actual affection for Miles, sparing him even after he is caught commiting sabotage. She often referred to Miles as a tinkerer and putterer. (DS9: "Crossover") Tekeny Ghemor Kira would form a strong friendship with Tekeny Ghemor, one of the leaders of the Cardassian Government. They first met when Kira was kidnapped by the Cardassians, surgically altered to convince her that she was Ghemor's daughter who was a agent for Cardassia. Ghemor realizing the truth helped her escape and became a leader in the Cardassian Underground who opposed the military government. In 2373 he would seek refuge on Deep Space 9 after the Dominion along with Dukat took over Cardassia. He was dying and Kira took care of him until he died. During this time he provided information to the Federation concerning the Dominion and Cardassia. He also revealed to Kira his part in the Occupation of Bajor. He had taken part in a massacre of Bajoran civilians. Dismayed, Kira still felt that no one should die alone and stayed with him until the end. (DS9: "Second Skin", "Ties of Blood and Water") Family Kira's mother and father were Kira Meru, and Kira Taban. She had two siblings, Kira Reon, and Kira Pohl. Kira Meru was selected as a comfort woman and willingly became the consort of Dukat in 2346. She did this so her family would receive special favors in the internment camp ensuring their survival. She remained his consort until her death seven years later. Kira's father told his children that their mother had died in the camp. Kira became aware of the truth when Dukat revealed this to her in 2374. Kira would use the Orb of Time to travel back to 2346 to see if this was true. When Kira saw the truth she participated in a plot to kill Dukat and her mother. In the end she understood what her mother was doing and warned them before the bomb went off. (DS9: "Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night") Kira and her father remained in the internment camp, until she joined the resistance. When her father was dying, she left to complete a terrorist mission, and missed being with her father when he died. She never forgave herself. (DS9: "Ties of Blood and Water") Romance Julian Bashir During an outbreak of 'Love Fever' brought on by a case of Zanthi fever afflicting a visiting Lwaxana Troi, Kira, who was dating Bareil at the time, was strongly attracted to Julian Bashir. While the two made definite outward displays of intense affection, there was no direct mention of the attraction continuing afterward. (DS9: "Fascination") Bareil Antos Kira first became involved with Vedek Bareil when he visited Deep Space 9 to help mediate a dispute between Vedek Winn and the Federation over the school Keiko O'Brien was running. (DS9: "In the Hands of the Prophets") Their relationship would strengthen when after Kira was replaced as Bajoran liaison to DS9, Bareil invited her to spend time at his monastery. He also helped her and Dax reveal The Circle's plan to take over Bajor by allowing them to dress in religious robes so they could safely make their way to Bajor's Council of Ministers. (DS9: "The Circle", "The Siege") In 2370 during the time of the election of the Kai, their romance had progressed to a love affair. (DS9: "The Collaborator") The relationship would end on a sad note when during a shuttle accident Bareil was mortally wounded. He was kept alive by Dr. Julian Bashir and may have survived, but a crucial meeting had been scheduled with Legate Turrel, with whom Bareil had been negotiating in secret for months. Although Kai Winn took over the negotiations, no one knew Turrel the way Bareil did and she required his advice. When the negotiations were over, Bareil asked that all artificial life support be stopped. He died in Kira's arms. (DS9: "Life Support") Shakaar Edon Kira and Shakaar, who became the head of the Bajoran Government, were lovers for a year. He was her resistance leader during the Occupation of Bajor. She met him again when she was sent by Kai Winn who had assumed the role of head of the government after the death of Kalem Apren, to reclaim soil reclamators from the farmers in his province. Government troops refused to attack their old leader, and Shakaar, following Kira's advice, returned to the capital and ran for the head of the government, a position he won. (DS9: "Shakaar") The relationship heated up during a visit to the station by Shakaar when he arrived to negotiate Bajor's admittance into the Federation. (DS9: "Crossfire") He was at Kira's bedside when she gave birth to the son of Miles O'Brien. (DS9: "The Begotten") They ended the relationship in 2373, but they remained friends. :Kira's transition from Vedek Bareil to future First Minister Shakaar led fans (as well as Dukat in "Return to Grace") to speculate that she was attracted to powerful Bajoran men. Odo The relationship between the two was long and tumultuous. They had first met during the Occupation of Bajor when Odo suspected her of murdering a collaborator. (DS9: "Necessary Evil") Over the years of working together, Kira and Odo began to fall in love. The feelings they had for each other withstood the other romances Kira had. With the help of Vic Fontaine, Odo was able to express his feelings and found out that Kira felt the same way, which culminated in a very passionate kiss in front of Quark's Bar. (DS9: "His Way)") They remained lovers until after the Dominion War, when Odo returned to the Great Link to save his people and lead them on the path of peace. (DS9: "What You Leave Behind") Chronology ;2343: Born in Dahkur Province on Bajor. ;2346: Mother "died". ;2355: Joined the Shakaar Resistance Cell. ;2357: Helped liberate the Gallitep labor camp. ;2365: Assigned to find list of Bajoran Collaborators. ;2365: First met Odo. ;2369: Bajor liberated. Joined Bajoran Militia. Assigned to Deep Space 9. ;2369: Piloted the runabout ''Yangtzee Kiang'' in a Gamma Quadrant mission; its crash landing killed Kai Opaka. The Kai was resurrected but could not leave the moon. ;2370: Began dating Bareil Antos. ;2370: Was given the privilege of encountering the Orb of Prophecy and Change. ;2371: Bareil Antos died. ;2371: Kidnapped and taken to Cardassia where she was surgically altered to look like Iliana Ghemor, a Cardassian operative from the Obsidian Order. ;2373: Surrogate child Kirayoshi O'Brien born. ;2374: Using the Orb of Time traveled back to 2346 on Terok Nor and discovered that her mother didn't actually die when she thought. Kira Meru became Gul Dukat's consort to gain special treatment for her family. ;2374: Began dating Odo. ;2375: Promoted to Colonel. Given temporary Starfleet commission as a Commander. Joined the Cardassian Rebellion. Odo left for the Great Link. Given command of Deep Space 9. ::Kira is apparently promoted directly from major to colonel, thus skipping the rank of lieutenant colonel (or field colonel, as the Bajoran rank is called). This raises the question of whether the writers really intended to make her a full colonel, or just a lieutenant colonel. Either way, of course, she would still be adressed simply as "Colonel" most of the time. Her temporary Starfleet commission as a commander could be taken as an indication that her Bajoran rank was, in fact, lieutenant colonel, since these ranks are equivalent. This would be inconsistent, however, with the Bajoran field colonel rank insignia established in season two (DS9: "The Siege"), which differ from that worn by Kira throughout season seven. Background During the production of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, it was intended for the TNG character Ro Laren to be assigned to the station. When Michelle Forbes declined the role, her character was modified and became the basis for Kira Nerys. Apocrypha In the DS9 relaunch novels, Kira is shunned from Bajoran religion after helping spread a secular interpretation of the Prophets. After many months the decision is reversed. Kira becomes a Starfleet captain after Bajor is admitted to the Federation. The same year, in the Worlds of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine storyline about the Dominion, she gets brutally attacked by the Jem'Hadar elder Taran'atar, and at the end of the story, it is unknown whether or not she survived. In the novel following Worlds of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Volume 3, Kira is in a coma and has visions of the Ascendants, in which she is a general trying to gain access to the fortress of Idran. She also has a conversation with the Prophets and Benjamin Sisko in the temple. To save her life, Dr. Bashir gives her an artificial heart. When told of this development by Sisko, Kira is horrified until she realizes it works perfectly. To comfort her, Sisko wryly asks if she expected a drum solo. External Links * * Kira Nerys at the Non-Canon Star Trek Wiki fr:Kira Nerys pl:Kira Nerys Category:Bajorans Category:Bajoran Militia personnel Category:Deep Space 9 personnel Category:Starfleet personnel Category:Athletes Kira Nerys de:Kira Nerys